2011-09-27 - Shining Light on the Shadows
Tuesday night has come, and the members of Young Justice have readied themselves for an attack on the man responsible for the assassination attempt on Elizraim. The location for the ambush is just as Elias Donbrook described...a small apartment structure in a building that had, to all outward appearances, been abandoned. The space is relatively plain, with no furniture save a small cot, a couple hidden cabinets in the walls (emptied, if anyone checks)...and, oddly, some fresh-looking carpet in the middle of the floor in the main room, as though moved in to cover something up. Elias' notes laid out a basic plan: Young Justice was to wait in the rear room, and the man responsible for the attack--likely accompanied by some of his puppets--would arrive at 9:30 PM. They were warned that there were two entrances--one to the front hall, and the other a secret entry to the main room...Elias could not say which the target might use, but the rear room would hide the ambushers from both routes. Hopefully, with the advantage of surprise, they can gain a quick victory. Some members of Young Justice have been left hidden outside to watch for any additional trouble or provide emergency reinforcements if needed. Elizraim emself absolutely refused to be left behind, desiring to confront eir assailant. Presently, ey's standing at the rear wall, arms crossed, dressed not in eir superhero gear but in the Mioemet garb ey never normally wears outside the hotel. The message is clear: it isn't the superhero Eym that is here tonight, it's the Kaumrael Elizraim Menai. This man struck not at a superhero, but at a Mioemet...and Elizraim is going to fight on those grounds. Demanding thoroughness in this mission as in any other, Man-at-Arms is in attendance, armored up and ready to go. Due to the amount of noise he makes, he has to stay very still once in position, lest he give away the position of the teammates inside the structure. But as he is Elizraim's bodyguard and protection, he refuses to be parted from the young Mioemet. After examining the facility in detail - including checking out that carpeting and the entrances - he has assumed his position, shield to the fore, and prepared to do his duty. Underneath the carpet is a large, carved mystic symbol of some kind, in an odd sort of non-symmetrical knotwork style. (Elias mentioned covering the Sigil of Kirnas at the site...that's presumably what this is.) Panacea, for her part, is in her normal costume. She's...not smiling. She doesn't really like this mission, she doesn't trust this guy at all. And she doesn't entirely trust Elizraim not to do anything stupid, although, of course, she does not voice those concerns. Elizraim definitely does appear fairly agitated, and it's fortunate that ey's so far back in the room (and that there aren't any windows), because eir eyes and hair are glowing. But then again...Elizraim does keep eir word (even when it involves learning how to use horrid technologies). And despite the overall anger, there's something very focused about Elizraim's demeanor right now. (Although ey may just be focused on not tapping eir foot in impatience.) A few minutes go by...and then, suddenly, there is a noise from the main room, a sort of scraping sound that suggests the moving of a wall. "Grandfather?" a voice calls, as footsteps can be heard--followed by a couple more pairs--and the flickering light of a candle flame can be seen. "Grandfather, where..." A pause. "The sigil..." A gasp of realization. "No!" "Go!" Elizraim hisses, thrusting out a hand to point at the door to the main room. Once they're through the door, they can see the mage, with two golems quickly advancing to stand before him. A third golem can be seen running up to the secret entrance from outside it, but it won't be in the room this round. The mage is pulling a necklace out from under his collar. At the gasp and the command to go, Man-at-Arms charges with a bellowing roar and much noisy clanking - subtle isn't in his vocabulary. He leads with his shield and fury, as his raised hand begins to glow. That blue-white glow builds, growing outwards, until it takes shape as a rather large gleaming sword, right out of legend. The young knight advances at a speed no normal man could sustain in that armor, enough to win forty-meter dashes, as he aims not for the magi but for his golems, to disable the threat they represent to he and his friends. Panacea takes a step back instead of forward, narrowing her eyes. She's not messing around with physical attacks on golems. That's Man-at-Arms' department. Instead, she's going to lash out at the mage himself with a full strength telepathic blast. She's expecting him to have some resistance. Disciplined mind, after all. Disciplined mind--confirmed. The mage is caught off guard...but he reacts with admirable speed. He did figure on some form of psionic attack, having predicted the presence of a Mioemet once he saw the covered Sigil. So, Panacea's mental strike smashes up against a pretty solid wall...but it's still enough to throw his mind for a loop and disorient him, enough that though he's holding the pendant on the necklace out--a sigil similar to the one on the floor--he can't seem to focus on some words he's trying to remember. Shakily, he manages to pull out an onyx knife with his other hand. The two golems in the room pull onyx-bladed swords as Man-at-Arms appears, and move with astonishing speed to take up defensive position before the mage. Fighters capable of emotion might have fled in fear before Man-at-Arms' sudden assault...but the golems are incapable of it, and stand their ground. As Man-at-Arms strikes, the two move as one and combine their strengths to try to block his blade...and are still driven back by the force of the blow, the blade biting into one of their shoulders, but not enough to cost it an arm. Meanwhile, a third golem can be seen coming up the secret passageway. In the chaos, Elizraim steps out from the secret room, eir spear appearing in eir hand as ey charges, yelling a battle cry in eir native tongue. With the mage distracted by Terra's attack, and the two golems occupied by Man-at-Arms, he slips around the golems and swings the butt of the spear hard towards the mage's hand that's holding the necklace. His reactions slowed by the mental assault, the mage doesn't move in time, and the hard thwack on his hand makes him release the necklace, dropping it to the ground. "Curse you, monster," the mage growls, stabbing with his knife at Elizraim, who quickly steps back away from the blow and uses eir wings to swing back behind Man-at-Arms again. Man-at-Arms does not need the golems to fear him. He is quite sure they cannot match him in battle, in skill or in power, and his duty is clear: destroy them and the threat they represent to Elizraim. The term 'extreme prejudice' comes to mind. And given they are not sentients, there is nothing within his code of honor that demands he take it easy or hold back, so he unleashes the full and devastating fury of his might and skill. He pulls his blade away from the union parry, then twists and brings the blade around at blinding speed into the side of the lead golem, prepared to cleave the thing's torso away from its legs. So long as they are focused on him, Eym is safe, as long as the crazed Mioemet stays away from the dagger-wielding mage. Panacea narrows her eyes. Okay. So he's a tough one, but he showed a reaction. She's going to simply hit him again. Keep him off guard, keep him unable to cast spells, keep him slowed so that Elizraim can kick his lousy butt. Within ereason, of course. The golems are fast...but Man-at-Arms's speed and power overwhelms them. The golem he's targeting manages to just barely get its sword in the way...but too awkwardly to do any good. The weapon is knocked from its hand and skitters across the floor, and the bright blade cleaves right through the midsection. The golem falls in two parts...but it isn't done fighting. The legs have ceased moving, but the torso is still able...it tries to grab for Man-at-Arms' legs. Meanwhile, Golem 2 makes its own attack, swinging a sideways blow aimed for Man-at-Arms' head. As it does this, Golem 3 finally arrives on the scene of the battle...and tries to slip around Man-at-Arms' side to get at the current threat to its master: Panacea. Crying out, the mage stumbles and wavers on his feet, trying to form the words for a spell but failing again as Panacea batters at his defenses. A silvery beam of light strikes into him and gets a second cry as Elizraim--fighting smarter than one might have expected given the situation--blasts at him from behind Man-at-Arms' protection. Spotting the golem trying to slip around, Elizraim positions emself between it and Panacea, spear at the ready in defensive posture. "I am no monster," ey calls. "I am Kaumrael Elizraim Menai...and tonight, you face my wrath." Man-at-Arms swiftly and naturally raises his shield to deflect the blow aimed at his head, as he reverses the stroke of his blade to come in under that blow and take at least one, if not both arms off of the attacking golem. Thus far still largely standing in place, the golem wrapped around his legs is allowed to make its efforts largely unmolested, the young knight trusting the might of the greatest muscles in his entire body to keep him upright and functioning for the moment. As it seems to be working, Panacea keeps the pressure on. One might note she's breathing a little hard, mental combat at least as hard work as physical, but it's working. They have him on the ropes...which has her suspicious. Too easy... Too easy...perhaps. But then, they did ambush the man when he was coming to what he thought was a peaceful meeting. Even mages can be unprepared. Still, the mage and his golems are putting up what fight they can. The golem on Man-at-Arms' leg hangs on with all it is worth--not doing much good, but doing all it can. The other golem he's fighting isn't able to withdraw in time...and loses its sword arm. Undeterred and not even hesitating, it jumps at him to try to grab around his midsection with its remaining arm and legs. The third golem manages to slip by, pulling a blade and charging at Panacea... ...only to be caught right in the face by Elizraim's onyx-bladed spear. The golem still moves...so Elizraim twists the spear, freeing it, and blocks a sword blow with the pole before ey twists, pushing the construct off balance and slicing the spear blade across its sword hand. Golems don't feel pain...but they're no better than humans at holding a sword without any fingers. The weapon clatters to the ground. The mage has finally given up on spells. He focuses all his will, hand going to his coat and shakily pulling one more weapon...a rather non-mystical one. His aim is poor, and he falls to one knee as he fires the pistol...but he does get it pointed in Panacea's direction, firing off two shots. And it isn't quite over yet. The front door is suddenly kicked in, and a larger golem stomps quickly towards the battle. This one doesn't look as human...it has four arms, and each ends not in a hand but in an onyx blade. It heads right for Man-at-Arms in full charge, aiming all four blades in sideways cuts at his body from each side. Though Man-at-Arms himself is unafraid of the charge of the larger golem, this battle is not about himself or the danger he faces. This battle is about protecting Eym, and those onyx blades could kill the young Mioemet if the larger golem gets past Man-at-Arms. The answer? The golem must not get past him. And so it shall not. The young knight raises his shield and summons forth the power within himself, the power within the shield, and focuses it. From in front of the shield erupts a barrier of energy that fills the room from floor to ceiling, a half-dome turned on its side, focused at the point of the shield and flaring out and around to block anything and everything in that direction - that of the charging golem. He cannot move much, now. He won't be attacking. But he will be holding back that golem. Period. Panacea keeps up the pressure, her eyes narrowed...and then she sees the bullets, but too late. One of them pings off of Man-at-Arms' shield, but the other slams into her stomach, throwing her backwards even as her mind slams into his again, then withdraws. Dang it. That hurt...not a great concern for her, but she's going to have real problems keeping on fighting. The golem slams against Man-at-Arms' shield with quite a bit of force...and falls back from the impact, thrown back by slamming so hard into such a powerful defense. It lands flat on its back, and slowly starts to pick itself up--totally open. The one-armed golem, though, did manage to get a grip on Man-at-Arms, and as the big golem is thrown back, it rears back and tries to headbutt the knight, aiming for his head. The golem fighting Elizraim tries to go for its weapon with its good hand, but Elizraim smacks its hand away with the butt of eir spear and whips the blade back up, stabbing it through the neck, then rips the spear out sideways, leaving the head hanging from a thin piece of material...which ey quickly cleaves as well. The golem falls still as the light in eir eyes goes out. "Panacea!" Elizraim shouts, looking back at her momentarily. The eyes and hair are shining at full torchlight level, now. Elizraim's close to losing it entirely...and ey swiftly runs toward the mage, yelling in rage... Only for the man, battered one last time by Panacea's mental assault, to pass out completely. Unceremoniously, the mage hits the floor face-first, and lies there, clearly unconscious. Man-at-Arms holds his position, and the shimmering shield of energy he has erected, though concern for his teammates runs paramount in his mind. He knows should he release the shield, should he falter, they will be in ever greater danger. So he accepts the headbutt blow, gritting his teeth to hold on rather than collapse. Without armor on his head, the blow rings his bell, but he isn't giving up. He can't. Giving up just isn't in him. Panacea drops to one knee. "He's down..." Are the golems still fighting? One's still on Manny, but in her current state she can't do anything to help...and they can't do anything to help her, either, not until the golems are dealt with. "Eli...don't." She knows the kid too well. Knows how angry ey is right now. It might be the truest test of eir resolve. The large golem gets to its feet...raises its swords...and then, suddenly, it stops. It stands still for a long moment...and collapses. The golems hanging on Man-at-Arms fall limp, falling to the ground. The lights in their eyes all fade away, and they are still. So, there is nothing at all between Elizraim and the fallen mage, and the young royal stands over eir unconscious foe, staring down at him with clenched jaw. Slowly, ey raises the spear...but as Panacea speaks, ey slowly lets it fall again. The spear turns liquid-like, flowing back onto eir arm and returning to its bracelet form. "I...gave my word." Elizraim turns, walking away from the man. "I gave my word to a good man, and I will not betray that trust. That is the only reason he still lives." Ey walks over to Panacea, kneeling next to her, and looks at her with concern--still mixed with anger, but concern. Freed from the crush of attack from one golem around his ankles, another around his waist headbutting him, and the large one ready to pound again on the shield he has erected, Man-at-Arms holds his position momentarily, while using his sword hand - the sword simply disappears in a flash of blue-white light - to peel away first one attacker and then another, tossing them away. When the larger golem does not re-animate to press the attack, he drops the shield he had erected, and re-summons his sword, summarily dispatching the golems by severing their heads, since that has proven to be effective in disabling them even when the mage himself is active. Though he is greatly concerned for Panacea, he is firm, silent and methodical in his work, until at last that work is done. As his final act, he creates manacles of mythic steel, and sets them on the mage. "We have all kept our word this day. Oaths sworn hath been upheld." he declares, before turning to check on Panacea. She once told him that she can and does heal herself. Time for him to find out if she can manage to do that this time ... or if he has in fact lost a teammate this night. "Would...one of you please see if you can get that bullet out?" Panacea manages between gritted teeth. She must have a pretty high tolerance for pain...but she has mentioned that she heals herself. So...maybe it's not that bad? For her... "Panacea..." The anger is fading in favor of fear, now, as Elizraim's worry becomes quite evident. Ey looks at Man-at-Arms, looking quite a bit more like a frightened child than anything else, and then turns back to Panacea, somewhat shakily reaching out to try to do as she asked. Elizraim's actually risking getting someone's blood on eir fine clothes--if that doesn't say ey likes Panacea, who knows what would. Since Eym is already moving to help Panacea, Man-at-Arms merely takes a knee beside her, taking her hand supportively. What more can he do, after all? It's...bad. But not that bad...and the bullet is lodged, but easy enough to find. "Quickly...I can't heal myself properly until you get it out." Elizraim works as fast as ey can, given eir total lack of knowledge in how to deal with bullets. It's probably rather painful...but the bullet does come out, dropped quickly by Elizraim, who springs back and shakes eir hand as though that alone would clean it off. Ey looks rather ill at the sight--though really, it's more at worry for eir friend. I have lost one dear friend...do not make me lose another! Panacea lets out a sharp breath. "You got it...thanks." It's going to take her a while to actually heal, but now the bullet is out, both of her teammates can see flesh already starting to knot back together. Elizraim nods, letting out a sigh of relief as ey sees the healing start. Ey turns away a little, a hand coming up to eir face in a motion that looks suspiciously like ey was drying eir eyes. But that couldn't be it, could it? With Panacea out of danger, the mage unconscious, and the golems destroyed...the trouble appears to be over. Leaving Panacea to her healing, Elizraim walks over to the mage, looking down at him, and sighs. For a moment, the urge to break eir oath comes up again...but ey pushes it back, more easily, now that ey knows Panacea will recover. "Man-at-Arms..." Ey turns, looking to eir armored ally. "Let us find something to prevent him from speaking...it would not do for him to start all this again." Ey smiles, slightly, and then the smile widens. "Finally...finally...it is over." Category:Logs Category:The Threat in the Shadows